


Answers Not Given

by tteotl1718



Series: Requests and Shorts [5]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Black Paladin Keith (Voltron), Hurt Keith (Voltron), Instrospection, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Orphan Keith (Voltron), Pairing Can be Platonic or Romantic, Sad Ending, Searching for Shiro (Voltron), Shiro (Voltron) is Missing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-30
Updated: 2017-08-30
Packaged: 2018-12-21 17:40:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11949324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tteotl1718/pseuds/tteotl1718
Summary: Even now though, Keith would stare into the stars, and still feel a sense of wonderment. These days however, that awestruck feeling was soon overrun by twisted worry and fear. He knew what was out there now, had a stronger sense of what waited him.





	Answers Not Given

**Author's Note:**

> This was just playing around in my head while I was struggling to write the next chapter for _Loving the Enemy_. Note, this was just me playing with some scene ideas, some interaction ideas, etc. But also enjoy the angst!

The stars were a sight that Keith could never get used to, even after all this time he had spent among them.

He often thought of that line that Pidge had told them after they had visited the Olkari, how they were all made of the same cosmic material and therefore were all essentially related to one another, even across the vast distances of space and time.

Before Keith had clues as to who he was and where he had come from, he had been a little amazed at the idea. He had come to think of Team Voltron as his family, but knowing that there was a small link that truly tied him to the others… it was the closest Keith had felt to a family in a long time.

And without that deeper connection there in the first place, Keith could remember how he had been drawn to the stars long before he had even entertained the idea of being a pilot. He would stare out at the night sky on clear summer nights when he was little, imagining what it was like up there.

He remembered asking his father, _Where is Mom?_  And his father would always take him outside at night time, pointing to the stars. Keith spent a lot of time outside at night, staring at the sky, imagining if that was where his mother was. His father would always tell him that his mother was _up there, right there. Can you see her?_ Pointing to some cluster of stars, giving Keith a sad smile.

Even now though, Keith would stare into the stars, and still feel a sense of wonderment. These days however, that awestruck feeling was soon overrun by twisted worry and fear. He knew what was out there now, had a stronger sense of what waited him.

He was cautious, but at times when he glared at the stars, he couldn’t help but allow a familiar rage to boil in his stomach towards those who made the stars ugly in his eyes.  

Keith often would replay the battles he had fought ever since Zarkon’s defeat. The first fight in the Black Lion, how unused to it he had been. How he had seen Lance fly the Red Lion and felt not anger or hurt but… a sense that it was right. He agreed with Red; if there was anyone fit to fly the Red Lion, it most certainly was the Blue Paladin.

The mission he put the entire team through, falling for Lotor’s trap… he couldn’t believe that he had been chosen as leader. What had Shiro been thinking; what had the Black Lion done, choosing him! He had put them all at risk…

But it was after that mission that things slowly got better. Thought the Black lion was still silent to him, he became accustomed to its controls quickly. He could feel it more acutely, moving with it – and it made it easier to help pilot Voltron. In fact, it was easier to pilot Voltron than the Black Lion because of how his bond with the other Paladins was becoming deeper than it was with the Black Lion.

It was… difficult. He missed the comforting feeling of Red in his head. Whenever he was upset, confused or grieving… he had felt a slight purring sensation in the back of his head, warm and gentle. Keith would feel safer, knowing that Red was there.

It was the closest thing that Keith could think of to equal a mother’s hug.

But now, with Shiro gone and Keith in the Black Lion, that bond was there. But it was cold, silent and almost distant. More like a father’s touch on his head instead of that motherly embrace.

Keith turned away from deep space, looking at his scanners on the Black Lion console. “…anything?” he murmured to his new bonded partner.

There came a faint dissatisfied rumble, trembling in the back of his mind. It sent a shiver down Keith’s spine, realizing that the lion had actually responded to him; it was a strange feeling, The Black Lion was so much… colder. Steady. Unassuming. He constantly had to guess what the Black Lion wanted from him, but a direct response like this... he hadn’t felt their minds to be this close since he had felt Red slip away and Black fill into the space.  

Keith frowned, adjusting the scanners slightly as he stared for results. Ever since the battle over Thayserix, Keith’s efforts to find Shiro had bene redoubled. The team supported him; they still came across a planet or an outpost that needed Voltron’s assistance, but the team could feel Keith’s desperation growing stronger and his hope growing weaker.

But every time he went out in the Black Lion, it became harder and harder for Keith to wrestle his will with hers just so they could leave the Castle behind and search.

It felt like they were closest in their link only because of Shiro and what he meant to the both of them.

“Maybe this was all a mistake...” Keith murmured. He had gotten used to talking to himself when he was alone. It made the silence less powerful, less all consuming around him. “Not looking for Shiro, I’ll always look for him. But… maybe _this_ was a mistake.” He murmured, gesturing to the Black Lion’s controls. “Our bond isn’t as strong as I thought it would be. I don’t know how to do this… I’m not a leader like Shiro, I will never be a leader like him-“

There came a displeased growling and Keith tensed cutting himself off, feeling the Black Lion speak to him, the voice unrecognizable, ancient and powerful.

 _There is no mistake. You are mine, cub._ The voice was almost affectionate, but displeased. Like it wasn’t sure how Keith could still doubt himself.

Keith hesitated, looking down at the controls. “But I’m not Shiro, I can’t lead like he does. We saw what happens when I lead-“

_And what happens is that you were able to pull Voltron together, despite new bonds._

Keith frowned, glaring at the controls now. Red was never like this. “But-“ he winced, closing his eyes as a powerful, firm growl resonated through his head and around him simultaneously. Forcing the thought from his head, removing any arguments. It was startling how powerful the simple growl had been, wiping through his mind as fast as a wave slamming into the shoreline.

_I have had many life forms presented in my minds eye, little cub. I chose you for a reason, just as every one of us chose their Paladin for a reason. Shiro had nothing to do with my choice. You are mine now and Shiro is not. Be at peace, little cub. Your search should not be outward._

Keith could feel that the Lion was trying to comfort him in a way, like it was hinting at bad news. There was a faint sensation of something curling around his mind’s eye, something trying to nurture him. He felt his grip on the controls grow ever tighter, panic making his heartbeat climb. “Shiro’s not dead!”

Suddenly as the Lion had pressed into his mind, Keith felt her suddenly retreat, leaving him feeing… aching. Empty. He had never felt closer to the Black Lion than in that moment and she had just snatched it away. Keith felt more frustrated and looked at the monitors, practically glaring at the systems. “What do you mean, I shouldn’t look outward?” Silence and Keith’s own thoughts filled the space. He frowned, grip tightening on the controls. “Black, I need to know! I’m tired of not having any answers! Please!”

The Black Lion kept moving through space, the systems scanning empty space as they had for the past few quintants.

This felt too close to how Keith had tried to figure out who he was, where his Marmoran knife had come from. Keith grit his teeth, feeling tears pooling in his eyes. He felt his fist slam into the controls before he knew what he was doing. “For once, can’t _anyone_ give me answers! Just something to show me where to go! Something to show me what to do!” He yelled, voice breaking.

The Black Lion did not answer him.

The stars, as always, did not answer him.

Keith felt the tears stream much more rapidly his face, and closed his eyes and wrenching his helmet free from his head. He ignored the crash it made when he chucked it against the walls of the cockpit, bouncing a little onto the floor. He couldn’t let anyone back at the castle hear him. Only one being could hear him, only one being was witness to the sorrow spilling from deep within himself. But Keith knew that the Black Lion would not answer his cries.


End file.
